


Drift Away

by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions)



Series: I'll Be There For You (Platonic Week III) [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, Dreamsharing, Drift Bond, Gen, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 21:25:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12826404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticReactions/pseuds/BossToaster
Summary: After a long series of missions and forming Voltron, the bond sticks as the team goes to bed.  Shiro tries to stay awake.





	Drift Away

**Author's Note:**

> The Drift Fic idea was started by Mumblefox (which you can find [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8309233).) This is a sequel to my own story with the concept, though reading it isn't totally necessary. But if you'd like, it's [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10043210).

Hunk fell gratefully into his bed, not bothering to fix it when he missed his pillow and smashed his nose into the mattress instead.  It had been days of battle after battle, in and out of Voltron, in and out of disaster, over and over.  They’d gone well past a day without sleep, and were very nearly on a second.  

In the back of Hunk’s mind, he could feel everyone else collapsing down too.  It hadn’t been the most rapid-fire forming and dropping of Voltron in their history, but they’d done it so many times in the past while that the connection was sticking.  Everyone felt a little small and far away, like looking down a cardboard tube to pretend it was a telescope as a kid, but Hunk could still make them out.  Someone - Pidge - had curled up in her bed and immediately twisted until she was totally cocooned in her blanket.  Lance was going through the bare motions of his evening routine, sending grumpy mental pokes as the group’s mutual exhaustion drove him to bed before he was done.  Keith still had his shoes on, which drew a mental scoff from Lance.  And Shiro was-

Was he pacing?

_ Go to bed, Shiro. _  Pidge, grumpy now, like a poked cat.   _ You’re making my muscles hurt. _

There was a flick in response, like a cat batting something off the edge of a table.

Keith pushed back, bullheaded and stubborn as ever.  They were all tired, and they could all feel the ache in Shiro’s shoulder where the metal arm pulled him down.  Feel the way his eyelids fought to close, and the way his spine bent forward with creaky exhaustion like an old man.

_ Do you want me there? _

Shiro didn’t need to reply.  His spike of alarm was enough to make Hunk’s eyes snap open, even though he really wished they wouldn’t.

That would be a no, then.

_ Go to sleep, _ Shiro told them all.  He finally stopped moving, sitting up in bed rather than laying out.  

Which, yeah, was better.  Hunk could still feel how tired Shiro was, but at least now the constant movement wasn’t tugging him away from sleep.  

Groaning - out loud, though it didn’t make a difference to any of them - Lance flipped onto his back.   _ Nightmares?  We can handle nightmares.  We all have them. _

Stubborn silence, with a tiny flick of something almost condescending.

_ Not like this. _

Oh, hell.   _No._ _This is not a competition about who had the worst nightmares.  Don’t make it that._

A pause, then there was a soft sensation over Hunk’s head, like a hand being pushed through his hair.   _ Sorry. _

_ Wasn’t going to, _ Lance shot back, though they could all feel the lie.

Stretching out, Keith rested his hands on his stomach.  The rough fabric of his gloves brushed a sliver of showing skin, and the sensation was mirrored on Hunk’s stomach.   _ If you’re staying up, so am I.  Like last time. _

Last time had been fun, admittedly.  None of them had managed to figure out that Altean game, even after taking it apart to try and understand the programming.

Interest swelled in Pidge, despite her grumpy exhaustion.   _ Maybe if we looked at it with fresh eyes. _

_ No.  Shut up.  Both of you.  No way. _

Well, fine.  Jeez.

Shiro groaned, audible to his own ears if not theirs.   _ Please, Keith.  Just rest.  It’ll wear off soon. _

Maybe not.  They’d never really tested how long these moments lasted, but it was usually at least a few hours.  And this was the longest build-up they’d had, so it might take longer to wear off.

This time, the swipe through his hair was annoyed, trying to shush him.

Pidge shoved him right back, backing Hunk up.  He was right, and they all needed to sleep.  Shiro included.  They’d handle dreams.  There was an 80 percent chance that Shiro would end up in one of their dreams, anyway.  Once they were asleep, it might be easy to tug each other away from bad dreams anyway.

A pause, sudden nerves from Lance.

The sensation of being swatted with a pillow from Keith.

Idly, Hunk wondered if this connection was what it was like to be connected to the mice.  What it feel different to mentally drift with an Altean?  Were their thought processes different?

_ Interesting. _  Pidge perked again, following the train.   _ The mice, too.  How different are Altean and mice brains? _

This time, the pillow-swat feeling was directed at both of them.   _ Please stop, _ Lance begged, nearly tearful.  _  I can’t sleep when you two go off like that. _

_ Right, sorry. _

A chuckle, reluctantly amused.  A swell of fondness that rose from Shiro like water in a rapidly filling pool.   _ Ask Allura tomorrow.  Tonight- _

Keith pushed in like a charging boar.   _ Tonight we all sleep.  We all need it, and you’re not going to deny yourself for us.  Enough. _

_ We have you, _ Hunk added.   _ Please, Shiro.  Don’t ask us to sleep while you’re awake and suffering. _

There was a vague gesture in Hunk’s direction, as if Keith was demanding ‘see?’

Shiro stayed stock still for a long moment, teetering on the edge of being persuaded.

Groaning, Pidge grabbed onto her pillow and curled around it like it was another person.  There was the vague sensation of both hugging and being hugged, shoved down toward Shiro.  Please.

_ I will come in there and drool on you if you don’t go to sleep yourself, _ Lance shot out.  _  And I cling in my sleep.  You’ll never get me off. _

Hunk snorted and thought of the many, many times that had happened to him.  It wasn’t an idle threat.

Setting his jaw, Keith mentally stared Shiro down.   _ We don’t need to be protected from you. _

There was a jerk, like Shiro had been slapped and stocked with static at the same time.  A direct hit, and one that left him flinching back and curling in on himself.  

For a moment, Shiro felt exposed to the bone, and his terror made Hunk’s stomach swoop.

But then there was warmth as Lance remembered warm group hugs and pushed that feeling along.  

Finally, the tension in Shiro relaxed.  He was still distinctly wary, and it was an animal kind of fear.  The kind that came from being kicked and backed into a corner.

Hunk hadn’t known Shiro was so defensive.  Reserved, yes.  Shiro held himself back.  But this was fear.  This was learned.

So he threw his memories in with Lance, and added in the one of Shiro shrunk to a six year old, clinging adorably to his chest and sniffling from tears.  Which, yes, was just as vulnerable, but a reminder that they’d already seen so much.  Was this really the breaking point?

Finally, slowly, Shiro relaxed again.  Then he reached down and finally pulled off his boots and folded his vest.

Bed time, then.

Thank goodness.

Pidge snorted, still curled around her pillow.  She did the mental version of pointing at Shiro, brows up.  _  At least someone understands the importance of taking off his shoes in bed. _

_ Shut up, _ Keith shot back, barely doing more than flopping back out.   _ Just you watch, Allura is going to set off the alarm, and then I’ll be ready faster. _

God, Hunk hoped not.  He could feel a hiccuping feeling like a sob from Lance as he even imagined standing right now, much less fighting.

_ Agreed.  Eugh. _

Once he was stripped that little amount, Shiro finally put his head on the pillow.  There was a moment of disorientation, as everyone’s exhaustion and different positions clashed, dizzying.  Between all of them, there were so many aches and such a strong need for sleep that giving in felt like passing out.

But it settled, and Hunk closed his eyes and took a deep breath-

_ And fell. _

Training in the castle, same as always.  Hunk could see himself wearing one of the headbands they hadn’t touched in months now.  His eyes were closed and his brows was furrowed.  Pidge was standing next to him, wearing an Olkari headband instead.  Behind her were windows that didn’t exist in the training room.  There wasn’t open space beyond it, but a deep forest with huge trees.  

Then the windows were gone, and they were all outside.  The perspective shifted, and pale hands wearing fingerless gloves reached out to take hold of bark.  

Climbing up, Keith sat down on a branch and took a deep breath.  It smelled like salt, and there were the sounds of the ocean in the background.  Then the hands holding them up weren’t Keith’s anymore, but Lance.  The tree changed too, a different species completely, but smoother bark and shorter limbs.  

Below them, a dog barked, drool dripping from it’s maw.  It seemed to be a huge, though the breed normally didn’t get that large.  Both paws went up on the tree.  It was coming for him!  Lance tried to climb higher, but the other branches were too thin to hold his weight.  Below him, the beast howled-

As Baebae let out a long whine, scratching at Matt’s door.  “He’s not in there,” Pidge snapped, for what had to be the fiftieth time.  “Go lie down.”

Baebae barely glanced at her, continuing to scratch fitfully.  Sighing, Pidge finally stood and stepped into the hallway, hands on her hips.  Her pale purple dress snapped with the movement of her steps.  “What do you think is in there?”  The dog didn’t look away, so she sighed and opened the door.  But the other side wasn’t Matt’s room.  I was the gaping, ink maw of space as it tore here away, tore her down into the airless depths-

Down the airless depths, his foot tangled in something - some sort of plant, rope, plastic twine.  Hunk couldn’t tell what it was, only that he couldn’t pull himself away.  His fingers reached for the surface above, flickering through the waves and seafoam.  He was so close.  He could nearly reach, but he couldn’t get away.  He was going to die like this, drown so close to the shore.  The sun was directly overhead, shining so brightly it hurt as Hunk strained up-

Hand up to block the light, left hand, the one that could still move.  The other ached from a break, the bone jutting out sickly.  The opponent scrambled, the stump of their cut tail lashing in the dust.  But Shiro didn’t turn to look, knowing the wound to their chest would kill them soon.  Already, the frantic twitches and scratching were weakening.  Instead, he stared up at the artificial lights above, with only his hand to protect his eyes, and started to sit up.

In the stands, raised above the rest of the observers, Haggar watched with eager eyes.  She stood and started to walk, flicking her hands to one of the guards.

Shiro knew that look.  It was interest.  It was the same one she’d have later as she held him down.  As Shiro tried to tell her the arm was just broken, it wasn’t that bad, he just needed normal healing, and the whine of the saw started-

Gagging, Hunk shoved the memory away in pure animal terror.  He didn’t want to see Shiro’s arm get cut off.  He really, really didn’t.

For a moment, there was nothing but inky blackness and the awareness that they were all together.  They’d been dreaming, and it had so quickly spiraled between them, each growing steadily worse.

_ I’m sorry,  _ Shiro said, bone deep, without meaning connected to it.  There was something wrong, and apologizing was reflexive.   _ I should have- _

Before he could finish, there was a tug, and this time they all tumbled into a new image.

Laying up, looking at the lights again, like Hunk’s nightmare, like Shiro’s memory.  But there was no danger here, just the roll of the waves and the sand beneath Lance’s back.  In front of him, he could hear his niece and nephew laughing and shrieking as they chased each other around.  Babysitting could be such a pain, but right now it felt like paradise.  They were playing well, and if he couldn’t hear him, he’d pay better attention.  But right now they were fine, so he could relax.  Instead, he took a deep breath of the cool breeze and smiled as the water just barely lapped at his heels.

_ Better? _ Lance asked.  It was with the same lazy, contented indulgence that he let his family run circles around without feeling a need to watch or interfere.  

Honestly, anything was better than the spirals of before.  But this was especially nice.

The sand changed, still hot, but coarser now, and just between their toes.  Keith sat in the desert, sitting on a rock with his shoes off and piled in front of him.  A fire crackled in front of him, and in the very distance there was a hint of a small, shabby building that Keith knew was his shack.

Even with the light from the fires, the night sky above him was filled with stars, the milky way streaking over the sky as if it had been painted.  A breeze picked up, blowing cool night air over Keith’s stinging cheeks and aching ears.

There was a quiet loneliness there, but it was contended for the moment.  Shiro was gone, and Keith had left the Garrison.  But today he’d found a cave filled with odd carvings that resonated in Keith, soothing the constant, nagging feeling in the back of his head.  There was something out here, and he was getting closer.

He had a date.

Maybe soon he’d have answers.

The scenery brightened, glinting as the sun rose.  Under Shiro’s palm, the metal arm shifted as if it were the one he’d left home with.  He had no memory of it, no clue how he’d gotten it, just like the white in his hair and the scar curving over his nose.

But Shiro did remember the moment he’d been captured, and when he’d been dragged away and learned how many cells there were.

Then he remembered waking up and seeing Keith slumped over the side of his bed, fingers clutching the sheets, and brow furrowed.

Close enough to touch.

Close enough for Shiro to know he was home.

There was so much he didn’t understand, so many questions pounding away inside his head.

But for right now, there was just a sunset.

A sunset and a warm hand on his shoulder.  Keith’s smile.  “It’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back.”

The light dimmed, and the desert wind died off, replaced by quiet snorting.  Pidge blinked her eyes open, surprised they’d been closed.  The screen in front of them played the menu screen on quiet repeat.

They must have fallen asleep during a movie.

One one side of her, Lance had slumped against Hunk, mouth open and slack against Hunk’s shoulder.  It was hard to tell in the dark, but there might have been a wet patch under his face.  Despite that, Hunk slept on, head flopped over the back of the couch.

On the other, Keith curled in on himself in the corner, fingers digging into a pillow.  Even in his sleep, he looked intense, and Pidge suspected he was dreaming.  Maybe of a race or a fight.  Something he was determined to win.

Next to him, Shiro’s eyes caught the light, open but blinking slowly.  He turned to her and gave a soft smile, looking perfectly content and at ease.

The perspective flipped, Shiro looking down at Pidge.  Her hair was messy and eyes blearily, clearly having startled out of a good rest.  Impulse took over, making him reach out to pet down some off her wild curls.  At his touch, her eyes fell closed, and she slumped back against the couch, smiling.

Affection overwhelmed Hunk, threatening to drown him.  There was no particular memory, but he still pushed forward, finding Shiro’s presence in the bond and pulling him into a fierce, loving hug.

At first, Shiro stiffened, surprised by the contact just as much as when it was physical.  But his heart soared in response, and Hunk felt him return and lean into the embrace like he was starved for it.

Other presences slammed into them, more support and hugs, until there were no more dreams at all.  Just support and love and the powerful feeling of team.

There were no more nightmares after that.


End file.
